As you might have guessed, the BAFTA ceremony was this weekend and a bunch of British films won. Of course this was bound to happen. I'd give it to my home team, too. The results don't necessarily determine the outcome of the Oscar's in two weeks, but it does confirm that there are a lot of great films competing this year. The King's Speech was easily the big winner, taking home Best Film, Actor, both Supporting Actor awards, British Film, Original Screenplay and Music. Inception and Alice in Wonderland, as the only other slightly British films in Hollywood, took most of the technical awards for Production Design, Hair &amp; Make Up, Visual Effects, etc. And when the Brits didn't have a clear domestic winner, I like to imagine they begrudgingly handed them over to David Fincher, Natalie Portman, Toy Story 3 and the lot.
Best Film- The King’s Speech
Director - The Social Network - David Fincher
Leading Actor - Colin Firth - The King’s Speech
Leading Actress - Natalie Portman - Black Swan
Supporting Actor - Geoffrey Rush - The King’s Speech
Supporting Actress - Helena Bonham Carter - The King’s Speech
Adapted Screenplay- The Social Network - Aaron Sorkin
Original Screenplay - The King’s Speech - David Seidler
Animated Film - Toy Story 3 - Lee Unkrich
Outstanding British Film - The King’s Speech
Film Not In The English Language - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director Or Producer - Four Lions - Chris Morris (Director/Writer)
Cinematography - True Grit - Roger Deakins
Editing - The Social Network - Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter
Production Design - Inception - Guy Hendrix Dyas, Larry Dias, Doug Mowat
Sound - Inception - Richard King, Lora Hirschberg, Gary A Rizzo, Ed Novick
Special Visual Effects - Inception - Chris Corbould, Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Peter Bebb
Make Up &amp; Hair - Alice In Wonderland - Valli O'Reilly, Paul Gooch
Original Music - The King’s Speech - Alexandre Desplat
Costume Design - Alice In Wonderland - Colleen Atwood
Short Film - Until The River Runs Red - Paul Wright, Poss Kondeatis
Short Animation - The Eagleman Stag - Michael Please
The Orange Wednesdays Rising Star Award (voted by the public) - Tom Hardy

Salt the propulsive new thriller from Phillip Noyce (Clear and Present Danger Patriot Games) has been dubbed “Bourne with boobs ” but that label isn’t entirely accurate. In the role of Evelyn Salt a CIA staffer hunted by her own agency after a Russian defector fingers her in a plot to murder Russia’s president Angelina Jolie keeps her two most potent weapons holstered hidden under pantsuits and trenchcoats and the various other components of a super-spy wardrobe that proudly emphasizes function over flash.
But flash is one thing Salt never lacks for. Its breathless cat-and-mouse game hits full-throttle almost from the outset when a former KGB officer named Orlov (Daniel Olbrychski) stumbles into a CIA interrogation room and begins spilling details of a vast conspiracy. Back in the ‘70s hardline elements of the Soviet regime launched an ambitious new front in the Cold War flooding the western world with orphans trained to infiltrate the security complexes of their adopted homelands and wait patiently — decades if necessary — for the order to initiate a series of assassinations intended to trigger a devastating nuclear clash between the superpowers from which the treacherous Reds would emerge triumphant.
The Soviet Union may have long ago collapsed (or did it? Hmmm...) but its army of brainwashed killer orphan spies remains in place and if this crazy Orlov fellow is to be believed they stand poised to reignite the Cold War. It’s a preposterous — even idiotic — scheme but no more so than any of our government’s various harebrained proposals to kill Castro back in the ‘60s. As such the CIA treats it with grave seriousness even the part that that pegs Salt who just happens to be a Russian-born orphan herself as a key player in the conspiracy.
Salt bristles at the accusation but suspecting a set-up she opts to flee rather than face interrogation from her bosses Winter (Liev Schreiber) and Peabody (Chiwetel Ejiofor). A former field agent she’s been confined to a desk job since a clandestine operation in North Korea went south leaving her with a nasty shiner and a rather unremarkable German boyfriend (now her unremarkable German husband). She’s clearly kept up her training during while cubicle-bound however and in a blaze of resourceful thinking and devastating Parkour Fu she fends off a dozen or so agents of questionable competence and takes to the streets where she sets about to clear her name and unravel the Commie orphan conspiracy before the authorities can catch up with her. That is if she isn’t a part of the conspiracy.
The premise which aims to resurrect Cold War tensions and graft them onto a modern-day spy thriller is absurdly clever — and cleverly absurd. But Kurt Wimmer’s screenplay isn’t satisfied with the merely clever and absurd — it must be mind-blowing. Salt is one of those thrillers that ladles out its backstory slowly and in tiny portions every once in a while dropping a revelatory bombshell that effectively blows the lid off everything that happened beforehand. No one is who they seem and every action every gesture no matter how seemingly trivial is imbued with some kind of grand significance. The effect of piling on one insane twist after another has the effect of gradually diluting the narrative. When anything is possible nothing really matters.
But spy thrillers by definition trade in the preposterous and the principal function of the summer blockbuster is to entertain. In that regard Salt more than fulfills its charge. Noyce wisely keeps the story moving at pace that allows little time for asking uncomfortable questions or poking holes in the film’s frail plot. And he has an able partner in the infinitely versatile Jolie who having already exhibited formidable action-hero chops in Wanted and the Tomb Raider films proves remarkably adept at the spy game as well.
It’s well-known that Jolie wasn’t the first choice to star in Salt joining the project only after Tom Cruise dropped out citing the story’s growing similarities to the Mission: Impossible films. But she’s more than just a capable replacement; she’s a welcome upgrade over Cruise not least because she’s over a decade younger (and a few inches taller) than her predecessor. Should Brad Bird require a pinch-hitter for Ethan Hunt he knows where to look.

The God of Legion secular Hollywood’s latest Biblically-inspired action flick is old-school an angry spiteful Almighty with a penchant for Old Testament theatrics. Fed up with humanity’s decadent warmongering ways He’s decided to pull the plug on the whole crazy experiment and start over from scratch.
Fortunately for us the God of Legion is also a rather lazy fellow. Instead of doing the apocalyptic work himself and wiping us out with a giant flood which worked perfectly well last time He opts to delegate the task to His army of angels — a questionable strategy that starts to fall apart when the archangel charged with leading the planned extermination Michael (Paul Bettany) refuses to comply.
Michael who unlike his boss still harbors affection for our sorry species abandons his post and descends to earth where inside the swollen belly of Charlie (Adrianne Palicki) an unwed mother-to-be working as a waitress in an out-of-the-way diner sits humanity’s lone hope for survival. Why is this particular baby so important? Is it the one destined to lead us to victory over Skynet? Heaven knows — Legion reveals little details its script devoid of actual scripture. What is clear is that God’s celestial hitmen want the kid whacked before it’s born.
But Michael won’t let humanity fall without a fight. Armed with a Waco-sized arsenal of assault weapons he hunkers down with the diner’s patrons a largely superfluous collection of thinly-sketched caricatures from various demographic groups led by Dennis Quaid as the diner’s grizzled owner Tyrese Gibson as a hip-hop hustler and Lucas Black as a simple-minded country boy.
Together they mount a heroic final stand against hordes of angels who’ve taken possession of “weak-willed” humans turning kindly old grandmas and mild-mannered ice cream vendors into snarling ravenous foul-mouthed beasts. They descend upon the ramshackle diner in a series of full-frontal assaults commanded by the archangel Gabriel (Kevin Durand) the George Pickett of End of Days generals.
Beneath its superficial religious facade Legion is really just a run-of-the-mill zombie flick a Biblical I Am Legend. Bettany an actor accustomed to smaller dramatic roles in films like A Beautiful Mind and The Da Vinci Code looks perfectly at ease in his first major action role wielding machine guns and bowie knives with equal aplomb. Conversely first-time director Scott Stewart a former visual effects artist does little to prove himself worthy of such a promotion serving up some impressive CGI work but not much else worthy of note.

Britney's doing it one more time for love
Britney Spears said her recent engagement to dancer Kevin Federline is the real thing, The Associated Press reports. In an interview with People magazine for their July 12 issue, Spears said, "Marrying Kevin was the last thing I was thinking about doing. But then I said, 'You know what? This is my life and I don't care what people think. I'm going to get married. I'm in love with him.'" Spears, 22, and Federline, 26, began dating a few months ago, after her quickie Las Vegas wedding to childhood friend Jason Alexander in January, which was just as quickly annulled soon after. "I kissed a bunch of frogs and finally found my prince," says Spears. "I feel like I've found my happily ever after." Federline, who performed as a backup dancer for Spears' former boyfriend, Justin Timberlake, previously was involved with Moesha actress Shar Jackson, who is currently pregnant with his baby and with whom he has a 2-year-old daughter. In an interview set to air Wednesday, Jackson told syndicated entertainment show Access Hollywood that "after I meet her (Britney) and everything's cool, we can be one big happy family" and feels no animosity toward Spears. "You should never blame the other woman, never," Jackson said. Spears says she plans to meet Federline's daughter and wants children of her own someday. "I'm not pregnant. (But) I definitely want to have some kids. I see myself with four or five."
Joan and Melissa dump E! for TV Guide Channel
Joan and Melissa Rivers, who have been hosting red-carpet specials for E! Entertainment Television since 1996, are taking their fashion counseling skills to the TV Guide Channel. The mother and daughter duo interview celebrities as they arrive for awards shows such as the Oscars, Emmys, Golden Globes and Grammys, asking the now-infamous question, "who are you wearing?". The TV Guide Channel reportedly offered Joan Rivers, 71, between $6 million and $8 million in a three-year pact that would easily exceed the value of her current E! deal, making the Rivers team the highest profile on-air talent for the TV Guide Channel, which has a circulation of 75 million homes, short of the 84 million cable and satellite homes that receive E! Their new posts will expand beyond the red carpet to include original specials and series, including a nightly show, What's On, the AP reports.
Teen pirate caught with camcorder at Spider-Man 2
A 16-year-old boy was caught videotaping a Spider-Man 2 showing Wednesday at a Los Angeles theater, Reuters reports. The teen, who was not identified because he is a minor, was spotted by a projectionist scanning the audience with night vision goggles and was arrested on suspicion of violating a California law that went into affect in January, barring the videotaping of movies in commercial theaters. The Motion Picture Association of America, which represents the interests of the major Hollywood studios, said the projectionists and other employees at the Chatsworth, Calif., theater may be eligible for awards of up to $500 under a new program that seeks to enlist theater employees and owners in the fight against digital piracy.
Howard Stern returns to axed radio markets
Howard Stern's daily morning radio show is expanding to nine new markets, including four that had been yanked by Clear Channel Communications in February over indecency concerns, Variety reports. The Howard Stern Show will be carried on parent producer Infinity Broadcasting's radio stations starting July 19. Stern, who announced his show's expansion at a news conference aired live on his show Wednesday, blamed the Federal Communications Commission scrutiny and his removal from the Clear Channel chain on his anti-Bush stance. "This is a big show of confidence for me," said Stern, thanking Infinity and parent company Viacom. "But when the government wants you out, you're out. This is only a temporary victory." Clear Channel defended its decision to dump Stern, saying it feared continued association with the shock jock and his show might lead to losing their station licenses.
CBS could pay hefty fine for Jackson stunt
CBS could face a fine of $550,000 for airing Janet Jackson's breast-baring performance during the Super Bowl Feb. 1, a source who spoke only on condition of anonymity told AP. Apparently, a staff recommendation to the Federal Communications Commission suggests each of the 20 CBS-owned affiliate stations should be fined the maximum indecency penalty of $27,500 for the incident. Produced by MTV, the Super Bowl halftime show featured Jackson and singer Justin Timberlake performing a duet, where at the end, Timberlake ripped off a piece of Jackson's black leather top, exposing her right breast to a TV audience of some 90 million. The commission was flooded with more than 500,000 complaints at the time. The commissioners now must decide whether to accept the recommendation, and a decision is expected in the next few weeks.
Time Warner throws in bid for MGM
Time Warner Inc. is putting together its own nearly $5 billion bid to acquire MGM, a cash and stock proposal which would rival Sony Corp.'s bid, Reuters reports. In part of the deal being considered, Time Warner would offer MGM's 74-percent stockholder Kirk Kerkorian about $11.50 a share in Time Warner stock and other MGM shareholders about $13 a share in cash, this source said. Sony Corp., which has been negotiating to acquire MGM since late April for roughly $5 billion, is still very much in the running, sources close to the negotiations told Reuters, as it has offered a higher price and is far along in doing due diligence on MGM's finances and its coveted 4,000-title film library that include the James Bond series.
Eminem's ex sentenced to jail
Eminem's ex-wife, Kimberly Mathers, was sentenced Wednesday to at least four months in a Macomb County, Mich., jail by for leaving a court-ordered drug treatment program without permission, the AP reports. Mathers' troubles began in 2003 when she was placed on probation after pleading guilty to charges of possessing 25 grams or less of cocaine and failing to give adequate space to an emergency vehicle. She has since twice has dropped out of a court-ordered drug treatment program and served some jail time earlier this year after dropping out the first time. A warrant for Mathers had been issued in April and she was arrested in an Ann Arbor hotel room June 15. She was sentenced yesterday to a year in jail, but will only have to serve 140 days. Mathers and Eminem, whose legal name is Marshall Mathers III, have a 8-year-old daughter, Hailie Jade.
Tony Bennett auction disappoints fan
Tony Bennett is demanding concert organizers refund a man who bid $15,000 in a charity auction, expecting to eat dinner with the singer, the AP reports. Gary Pusateri, 52, placed the winning bid on a package that was said to include "dinner with Tony Bennett" after a concert last weekend in Baltimore, which raised money for ALS research at Johns Hopkins Hospital. But instead of eating alongside Bennett, Pusateri and a hundred others got to shake the singer's hand and eat on the second floor of a downtown Italian eatery while the singer dined with his guests on the first floor. Danny Bennett, the singer's son and manager, said in a statement "the decision to auction off a post-show dinner with the singer was made without Mr. Bennett's approval or knowledge." A spokesman for Hopkins said the confusion was due to improper wording on the script given to the auctioneer and said hospital officials hoped to resolve the issue shortly.
Guylaine Cadorette contributed to this report.

The Writers Guild of America, west and East announced nominations for outstanding achievement in writing for the screen, television and radio during the 2003 season.
Nominees in the original category went to independent art-house films, including Gurinder Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges and Guljit Bindra for Fox Searchlight's Bend It Like Beckham; Steven Knight for Miramax's Dirty Pretty Things; and Tom McCarthy for Miramax's The Station Agent.
Nominees for the adapted category went mostly high-profile releases, including Anthony Minghella for Miramax's Cold Mountain; Frances Walsh &amp; Philippa Boyens &amp; Peter Jackson for New Line's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King; and Gary Ross for Universal's Seabiscuit.
WGA noms are closely tracked as an indicator of Academy Awards sentiment. Guild winners in the original screenplay category have matched Oscar choices in 11 years over the past 21 while the WGA adapted screenplay award has matched with the Oscar winner in 14 years during the same period.
The films eligible for Writers Guild Awards were released in the year 2003 under the jurisdiction of Writers Guild of America, East and west and affiliate guilds in Australia, Canada, French Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, and New Zealand.
In television, the nominated scripts were originally broadcast between December 1, 2002, and November 30, 2003.
The winners will be announced Saturday, February 21, 2004, at the 56th Annual Writers Guild Awards ceremonies on both coasts.
The Writers Guild of America, west ceremonies will be held in Los Angeles at the Century Plaza Hotel, and the Writers Guild of America, East ceremonies will be held in New York at The Pierre Hotel.
SCREEN NOMINEES
Original Screenplay
BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM, Written by Gurinder Chadha and Paul Mayeda Berges and Guljit Bindra, Fox Searchlight Pictures
DIRTY PRETTY THINGS, Written by Steven Knight, Miramax Films
IN AMERICA, Written by Jim Sheridan &amp; Naomi Sheridan &amp; Kirsten Sheridan, Fox Searchlight Pictures
LOST IN TRANSLATION, Written by Sofia Coppola, Focus Features
THE STATION AGENT, Written by Tom McCarthy, Miramax Films
Adapted Screenplay
AMERICAN SPLENDOR, Written by Robert Pulcini &amp; Shari Springer Berman, Based on the Comic Book Series by Harvey Pekar and the Novel by Harvey Pekar and Joyce Brabner, HBO Films/Fine Line Features
COLD MOUNTAIN, Screenplay by Anthony Minghella, Based on the Novel by Charles Frazier, Miramax Films
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING, Screenplay by Fran Walsh &amp; Philippa Boyens &amp; Peter Jackson, Based on the Novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, New Line Cinema
MYSTIC RIVER, Screenplay by Brian Helgeland, Based on the Novel by Dennis Lehane, Warner Bros. Pictures
SEABISCUIT, Screenplay by Gary Ross, Based on the Book by Laura Hillenbrand, Universal Pictures
TELEVISION NOMINEES
Episodic Drama --any length--one airing time
"ABOMINATION (Law &amp; Order: SVU), Written by Michele Fazekas &amp; Tara Butters; NBC
"BOUNTY (Law &amp; Order), Written by Michael S. Chernuchin; NBC
"DISASTER RELIEF (The West Wing), Teleplay by Alexa Junge, Story by Alexa Junge &amp; Lauren Schmidt; NBC
"LOSS (Law &amp; Order: SVU), Written by Michele Fazekas &amp; Tara Butters; NBC
"PILOT (The O.C.), Written by Josh Schwartz; Fox
"7:00 P.M. -- 8:00 P.M. (24), Written by Evan Katz; Fox
Episodic Comedy--any length--one airing time
"DAY CARE" (Malcolm in the Middle), Written by Gary Murphy &amp; Neil Thompson; Fox
"MALCOLM FILMS REESE" (Malcolm in the Middle), Written by Dan Kopelman; Fox
"NO SEX, PLEASE, WE'RE SKITTISH" (Frasier), Written by Bob Daily; NBC
"A WOMAN'S RIGHT TO SHOES" (Sex and the City), Written by Jenny Bicks; HBO
Original Long Form--over one hour--one or two parts, one or two airing times
AND STARRING PANCHO VILLA AS HIMSELF, Written by Larry Gelbart; HBO
Episode 1, "BEYOND THE SKY" and Episode 2, "JACOB AND JESSE" (Taken), Written by Leslie Bohem; USA
CAESAR, Written by Peter Pruce and Craig Warner; TNT
WILDER DAYS, Written by Jeff Stockwell; TNT
Adapted Long Form--over one hour--one or two parts, one or two airing times
NORMAL, Teleplay by Jane Anderson, Based on the play Looking for Normal by Jane Anderson; HBO
OUT OF THE ASHES, Teleplay by Anne Meredith, Based on the book I Was a Doctor in Auschwitz by Dr. Gisella Perl; Showtime
RUDY: THE RUDY GIULIANI STORY, Written by Stanley Weiser, Based on the book Rudy! by Wayne Barrett; USA
THE STRANGER BESIDE ME, Teleplay by Matthew McDuffie and Matthew Tabak, Based on the book by Ann Rule; USA
Animation--any length--one airing time
"THE DAD WHO KNEW TOO LITTLE" (The Simpsons), Written by Matt Selman; Fox
"MOE BABY BLUES" (The Simpsons), Written by J. Stewart Burns; Fox
MY MOTHER THE CARJACKER" (The Simpsons), Written by Michael Price; Fox
"REBORN TO BE WILD" (King of the Hill), Written by Tony Gama-Lobo &amp; Rebecca May; Fox
"RESCUE JET FUSION" (The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius), Written by Steven Banks; Nickelodeon
"THE STING" (Futurama), Written by Patric M. Verrone; Fox
Comedy/Variety--Music, Awards, Tributes -- Specials -- any length
THE KENNEDY CENTER HONORS, Written by George Stevens, Jr., Sara Lukinson and David Leaf; CBS
THE 75TH ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS, Written by Hal Kanter, Rita Cash, Buz Kohan, Special Material Written by Steve Martin, Beth Armogida, Dave Barry, Dave Boone, Andy Breckman, Jon Macks, Rita Rudner, Bruce Vilanch; ABC
Comedy/Variety--(including talk) Series
LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN, Written by Mike Sweeney, Chris Albers, Jose Arroyo, Andy Blitz, Kevin Dorff, Jonathan Glaser, Michael Gordon, Brian Kiley, Michael Koman, Brian McCann, Guy Nicolucci, Conan O'Brien, Andrew Secunda, Allison Silverman, Robert Smigel, Brian Stack, Andrew Weinberg; NBC
MAD TV, Writing supervised by Scott King, Written by Dick Blasucci, Lauren Dombrowski, Bryan Adams, Bruce McCoy, Michael Hitchcock, Steven Cragg, Chris Cluess, John Crane, Jennifer Joyce, Tami Sagher, David Salzman, Richard Talarico, Jim Wise, Kal Clarke, Sultan Pepper, Bill Kelley, Maiya Williams, Dino Stamatopoulos, Rick Najera, Brooks McBeth, Jason Kordelos, Michael McDonald, Stephnie Weir; FOX
PENN &amp; TELLER: BULLSHIT!, Written by Penn Jillette, Teller, David Wechter, John McLaughlin; Showtime
REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER, Written by Billy Martin, Scott Carter, David Feldman, Brian Jacobsmeyer, Jay Jaroch, Chris Kelly, Bill Maher, Ned Rice, Paul F. Tompkins; HBO
Daytime Serials
ALL MY CHILDREN, Written by Agnes Nixon, Megan McTavish, Gordon Rayfield, Anna Theresa Cascio, Frederick Johnson, Jeff Beldner, Janet Iacobuzio, Lisa Connor, Addie Walsh, Victor Miller, Mimi Leahey, Bettina F. Bradbury, John PiRoman, Karen Lewis, Amanda Robb, Rebecca Taylor, Christina Covino, David A. Levinson; ABC
ONE LIFE TO LIVE, Written by Josh Griffith, Michael Malone, Shelly Altman, Lorraine Broderick, Richard Backus, Ron Carlivati, Anna Theresa Cascio, David Colson, Leslie Nipkow, Michelle Poteet Lisanti, Becky Cole, James Fryman, Katherine Schock, Ginger Redmon, Daniel Griffin; ABC
Children's Script
"DON'T LOOK BACK" (Out There), Written by Willie Reale and Mark Palmer; PBS
FULL COURT MIRACLE, Written by Joel Silverman and Joel Kauffmann &amp; Donald C. Yost; Disney Channel
I WAS A TEENAGE FAUST, Written by Thom Eberhardt; Showtime
THE MALDONADO MIRACLE, Teleplay by Paul W. Cooper, Based upon the novel "The Maldonado Miracle" by Theodore Taylor; Showtime
Documentary - Current Events
"TRUTH, WAR AND CONSEQUENCES" (Frontline), Written by Martin Smith; PBS
"THE WAR BEHIND CLOSED DOORS" (Frontline), Written by Michael J. Kirk; PBS
Documentary - Other Than Current Events
BECOMING AMERICAN: THE CHINESE EXPERIENCE--BETWEEN TWO WORLDS (PART 2), Written by Thomas Lennon &amp; Mi Ling Tsui and Bill Moyers; PBS
"CYBER WAR!" (Frontline), Written by Michael J. Kirk; PBS
"THE ELEGANT UNIVERSE: THE STRING'S THE THING" (Nova), Written by Joseph McMaster; PBS
"THE ELEGANT UNIVERSE: WELCOME TO THE 11TH DIMENSION" (Nova), Written by Julia Cort &amp; Joseph McMaster, PBS
"THE MURDER OF EMMETT TILL" (The American Experience), Written by Marcia Smith, PBS
"SEABISCUIT" (The American Experience), Written by Michelle Ferrari; PBS
News - Regularly Scheduled, Bulletin or Breaking Report
"PASSING OF MUSIC LEGENDS" (CBS News Sunday Morning), Written by Robert Mank;
"CBS SHOWDOWN WITH SADDAM" (CBS News), Written by John Craig Wilson; CBS
News - Analysis, Feature, or Commentary
"BAPTISM BY FIRE" (60 Minutes), Written by Barbara Dury &amp; Morley Safer; CBS
"WALL STREET" (NOW with Bill Moyers), Written by Michael Winship &amp; Bill Moyers; PBS
RADIO NOMINEES
Documentary
AUTISM: SHADES OF GRAY, Written by Julia Kathan; ABC News Radio
News--Regularly Scheduled
AFTERNOON DRIVE, Written by Bill Spadaro; 1010 WINS Radio
WORLD NEWS THIS WEEK, Written by Stuart H. Chamberlain, Jr.; ABC News Radio
News--Analysis, Feature or Commentary
REMEMBERING ED BLISS, Written by Mike Silverstein; ABC News Radio
THE ROAD TO LAUGHTER: A TRIBUTE TO BOB HOPE, Written by Steven Gosset; CBS Radio Network
On-Air Promotion (Radio or Television)
BUFFY/ENTERPRISE, Written by Eric Jacobson; CBS/UPN

It was a Fast moving weekend at the box office as Universal's The Fast and the Furious sped away with over $41 million.
The PG-13 action drama pulled into theaters with a high octane ESTIMATED $41.6 million at 2,628 theaters ($15,830 per theater).
Fast, which only cost $38 million to produce, appears to be well on its way to a very profitable $100 million in domestic theaters.
Fast's average per theater was the highest for any film playing in wide or limited release this weekend.
Directed by Rob Cohen and produced by Neal H. Moritz, it stars Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster.
"It's the eighth all-time June opener and Universal's sixth highest opener ever," Universal distribution president Nikki Rocco said Sunday morning. "And it ranks in the Top 25 of all time openers in history, which is a lot to say for a little film that cost $38 million. It's Rob Cohen's biggest opener and Neal Moritz's biggest opener."
(Exhibitors Relations Co., a film industry statistical research firm, lists The Fast and the Furious as the seventh best June opener if estimates hold.)
Pointing out that Fast is playing in 2,628 theaters, which she felt was the perfect number of theaters for it to open in, rather than in 3,000-plus locations, which has become typical for summer releases. "This is a lesson that you don't need to be in 3,500 playdates to do a huge gross," Rocco said. "I want to point out to filmmakers that if you're not in (over 3,000 theaters) you can still have a blockbuster."
Focusing on Fast's high speed launch, Rocco observed, "Obviously, the grosses speak for themselves as an indication of the enormously successful opening that we've had. What I'm absolutely excited about are the exit polls. To see an excellent rating for all [demographic] categories come in at 60 percent where the norms are 35 percent is extraordinary. The core audience [which is the under-25 group] is 68 percent excellent. These are enormous exit polls.
"The Top Two boxes [excellent and very good] is 89 percent. Now remember, you're taking into consideration [in this score people who are] over 25 years of age. For the core audience, it's 91 percent. The Definite Recommend is 71 percent and 78 percent for the score. It's unbelievably impressive."
Rocco noted that the exits were done Saturday night, "so we're not just getting the must-see people who go out on a Friday night. These were polled on Saturday night. That's what's so amazing to me. The breakdown of the audience last night was 55 percent male and 45 percent female. That's not heavily loaded to males. And it was very ethnically mixed. It was 50 percent white, 24 percent Hispanic, 11 percent Asian, 10 percent black and 5 percent others. So it had a good ethnic mix. And it bodes well for today's business between kids being out of school and Sunday being a good day for films [that play well to ethnic audiences]. That's why we're counting on the business being extraordinary today. There are no [major televised] sporting events to interfere with us.
"I'm just so excited for Rob Cohen and Neal Moritz. And I have to commend our production group and Scott Stuber (co-president of production). This was an in-house developed project. Scott found an article in Vibe magazine about streetcar racing and he developed this. So it's kudos to the production group. Our marketing, distribution and production people have proven -- and this is just a further example -- how we can tap into a certain culture. We did it with Bring It On. We did it with American Pie. And now we've done it with The Fast and the Furious."
Focusing on the film's release, Rocco commented, "The distribution strategy was absolutely perfect. In an environment where it's almost a must that you find 3,000 playdates, we've just proven that 2,600 playdates gets the job done as well as any film opening with over 3,000 playdates. That's not to say that we won't have 3,000 playdates on other films, it's just to say that you go with the flow and do what the marketplace demands of you."
Rocco also tipped her hat to Universal Pictures vice chairman Marc Shmuger "for having the enthusiasm and the drive to convince us to move it from March or April to the summer. After the second test screening, Marc looked at everybody and discussed with the filmmakers the fact that this would be a perfect summer programmer."
Rocco noted that at the time she believed Fast was going to be hit and felt she needed it on the studio's spring release schedule. "Marc had the vision and the guts to say, 'We could do it, team. Let's move it to the summer.' The only date that we felt comfortable with was this date, which was sandwiched between Tomb Raider and A.I. I have to give him a lot of credit for having that vision and the faith.
"I like to space out all my hits and we needed a film in the spring. But everything that Marc said made so much sense that we moved it. He convinced us, so we found this date. We knew we weren't going to go on the Tomb Raider date (or) the A.I. date. We had Jurassic Park 3 set for mid-July, so we didn't want to go there. This was the only reliable date that I could pick. And I didn't want to go earlier and cut into The Mummy Returns."
20th Century Fox and Davis Entertainment's PG rated comedy sequel Dr. Dolittle 2 kicked off in second place to a solid ESTIMATED $26.71 million at 3,049 theaters ($8,761 per theater).
The 1998 original -- inspired by the 1967 musical -- opened the weekend of June 26-28, 1998 to $29.01 million at 2,777 theaters ($10,448 per theater). In its second weekend (July 3-5), the original fell 32% and placed second with $19.68 million at 2,871 theaters ($6,853 per theater). It went on to gross $144.2 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Steve Carr and produced by John Davis, it stars Eddie Murphy.
"I'm looking at the overall weekend and I can't believe it -- it's up [over] 40 percent from last year," Fox distribution president Bruce Snyder said Sunday morning. "It's astonishing. How much can a market expand? What it says is that there's enough pictures that they do want to see. You're looking at five movies over $10 million. It's just amazing."
Looking at Dolittle's opening weekend, Snyder noted, "We were up 16 percent from Friday to Saturday. I was looking for a little bigger bump, but I guess there's just so much business out there. I was also looking at Atlantis and Shrek, which are family movies [like Dolittle]. They did almost $24 million between them and with our $26.7 million, you're looking at $50 million in family movies. It was a terrific weekend and I'm thrilled with our number. I believe we'll be around all summer with it."
Some observes had expected Dolittle to open in first place, which Snyder said had looked likely until this week's tracking data became known.
"If you had asked me that two weeks ago, I would have told you I thought so, too," he said. "As of this week, you could see the heat building on the teenage movie. One thing about teenage movies is that the kids have to get in there immediately. Dolittle you can see this week, next week, the week after. When it comes to teenage movies, (you've got to be there right away), which is why it goes down from Friday to Saturday. [Fast] was off 10 percent, which is not a big drop on such a huge number, but it's indicative of the teenage moviegoing habit vs. family [audiences]."
Looking for a long run on Dolittle, he added, "We'll be talking about it in August."
Paramount and Mutual Film Company's PG-13 rated action adventure Lara Croft: Tomb Raider fell sharply in its second week by two rungs to third place with a less sexy ESTIMATED $20.2 million (-58%) at 3,312 theaters (+4 theaters; $6,099 per theater). Its cume is approximately $84.2 million, heading for $125-130 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Simon West, Tomb stars Angelina Jolie.
"I think it's $125-135 million, in there somewhere, if it continues along this same pattern that X-Men did, which frankly it's just virtually mirrored every day as far as percentage drops," Paramount distribution president Wayne Lewellen said Sunday morning. "Actually, on Thursday X-Men dropped 10 percent from the Wednesday figure and we were flat with Wednesday, so we were a little bit on the positive side. But the percentages have been virtually the same. They were down 57 percent their second weekend."
Buena Vista/Disney's PG rated animated feature Atlantis slid two pegs in its third week, but held well with an ESTIMATED $13.2 million (-35%) at 3,071 theaters (+60 theaters; $4,298 per theater). Its cume is approximately $44.3 million.
Directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, its voice talents include Michael J. Fox, James Garner, Cree Summer and Leonard Nimoy.
DreamWorks' PG rated computer animated blockbuster Shrek dropped two notches to fifth place in its sixth week, continuing to hold strongly with an ESTIMATED $11.0 million (-16%) at 3,007 theaters (-310 theaters; $3,663 per theater). Its cume is approximately $215.8 million on its way to $250 million or more.
DreamWorks said Shrek hit $200 million on June 19, almost exactly one month after its wide release on May 18.
"Crossing $200 million this early out puts Shrek in the kind of rarified atmosphere that would be a fairy tale come true for any studio," DreamWorks distribution head Jim Tharp said in announcing the milestone. "The film's success speaks volumes about how well this movie plays to audiences across every geographic and demographic divide. We are thrilled that moviegoers are not only continuing to discover the magic of Shrek for the first time, but are going back again and again -- and taking friends. The resulting word of mouth has been a big part of the box office success and should continue to carry it throughout the summer."
Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, its voice talents include Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and John Lithgow.
Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow's R rated action thriller Swordfish dropped two rungs to sixth place in its third week with an OK ESTIMATED $7.7 million (-39%) at 2,660 theaters (-28 theaters; $2,900 per theater). Its cume is approximately $53.2 million, heading for $72-73 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Dominic Sena and produced by Joel Silver and Jonathan Krane, it stars John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry and Don Cheadle.
"It's sensational given the competition in our demographic the last two weeks from Tomb Raider and Fast and the Furious, these are great," Warner Bros. Distribution executive vice president &amp; general sales manager Jeff Goldstein said Sunday morning.
Looking ahead to what looms as next weekend's big film, Goldstein reminded, "A.I. opens up Friday in over 3,000 locations."
Buena Vista/Touchstone and Jerry Bruckheimer Films' PG-13 rated three hour epic action romance Pearl Harbor fell two rungs to seventh place in its fifth weekend with a less explosive $7.0 million (-29%) at 2,668 theaters (-472 theaters; $2,618 per theater). Its cume is approximately $172.1 million, on its way to $200 million by late summer.
Directed by Michael Bay, Pearl was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay. Starring are Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnet, Kate Beckinsale, Cuba Gooding Jr., Tom Sizemore, Jon Voight and Alec Baldwin.
20th Century Fox's PG-13 rated romantic musical drama Moulin Rouge held on to eighth place in its sixth week, continuing to hold well with an ESTIMATED $3.84 million (-24%) at 1,592 theaters (-492 theaters; $2,411 per theater). Its cume is approximately $43.4 million.
Directed by Baz Luhrmann, it stars Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor.
"It's off (only) 24 percent and yet we lost 25 percent of our theaters," Fox's Bruce Snyder said Sunday morning. "I think something's happening there. (The cut-back in theaters) funneled the business back into the theaters that were strong."
Where is it going? "I've got to think we can get to $55 million and that will be delightful," Snyder said. "This is not an easy movie. It doesn't fit the cookie cutter molds that I'm accustomed to dealing in, so I'm delighted."
DreamWorks' and Columbia's PG-13 rated sci-fi comedy Evolution fell three pegs in its third week with a calm ESTIMATED $3.6 million (-46%) at 2,258 theaters (-355 theaters; $1,578 per theater). Its cume is approximately $32.6 million.
Directed by Ivan Reitman, it stars David Duchovny, Orlando Jones, Seann William Scott and Julianne Moore.
Rounding out the Top 10 was Columbia's release of Revolution Studios PG-13 youth appeal comedy The Animal, down three rungs in its fourth weekend with a quiet ESTIMATED $3.0 million (-48%) at 2,228 theaters (-513 theaters; $1,346 per theater). Its cume is approximately $51.3 million, heading. for $55 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Luke Greenfield, it stars Rob Schneider.
On the expansion front, this weekend saw Fox Searchlight's R rated drama Sexy Beast widen in its second week with a very sexy ESTIMATED $0.65 million at 57 theaters (+48 theaters; $11,426 per theater). Its cume is approximately $0.97 million.
Directed by Jonathan Glazer, it stars Ben Kingsley.
"It's playing extremely well across the country -- from Boston to Houston to Seattle to Chicago," Fox Searchlight distribution president Stephen Gilula said Sunday morning. "I think what's happened is that the Don Logan character than Ben Kingsley has created is fascinating people. It's a larger than life character and people are really talking about it. It's almost like a Travis Bickel or a Hannibal Lecter. People are just mesmerized and they're talking about it.
"In New York, where we're in our second week, all of the four theaters went up this weekend, which is just excellent. We're adding another 21 markets this week and we'll go to over 100 theaters and we have additional cities (that we'll be adding) every weekend in July. We're going to get to 150 to 200 theaters."
Focusing on where it's playing best at this point, Gilula noted, "It is not crossing over yet into the pure commercial suburbs. But our suburban runs in New York were actually quite good. We seem to be the art film or the limited release film of the summer so far. (Fine Line's) Anniversary Party is doing pretty well, in addition."
Asked where Beast is heading, Gilula replied, "I hesitate to give you a number yet in terms of where we're going to end up, but I think we'll get past $5 million, which for us on a small film will be just fine.
"Even in a mega-summer, there's an audience out there that really seeks out alternative sort of smart film entertainment. It is not a monolithic market, at all. There are audiences that are out there all year long always looking for all kinds of movies."
Fine Line Features' R rated comedy The Anniversary Party went wider in its third week with a still encouraging ESTIMATED $0.62 million at 85 theaters (+69 theaters; $7,335 per theater). Its cume is approximately $1.2 million.
Written and directed by Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh, its ensemble cast includes Jane Adams, Jennifer Beals, Phoebe Cates, Alan Cumming, Kevin Kline, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gwyneth Paltrow, Parker Posey and John C. Reilly.
Lions Gate Films' PG-13 rated drama Songcatcher expanded in its second week with an uninspired ESTIMATED $0.06 million at 13 theaters (+6 theaters; $4,630 per theater). Its cume is approximately $0.12 million.
Directed by Maggie Greenwald, it stars Janet McTeer and Aidan Quinn.
Key films -- those grossing more than $500,000 -- took in approximately $14.33 million, up about 42.34% from the comparable weekend last year when key films grossed $100.69 million.
This weekend's key film gross was up about 10.97% from last weekend this year when key films took in $129.15 million.
Last year, Fox's opening week of Me, Myself &amp; Irene was first with $24.21 million at 3,019 theaters ($8,019 per theater); and DreamWorks' opening week of Chicken Run was second with $17.51 million at 2,491 theaters ($7,028 per theater). The top two films one year ago grossed $41.7 million. This year, the top two films grossed an ESTIMATED $68.3 million.

Jeepers Creepers did frightfully well at the box office, capturing first place with over $16 million and setting a new record for a Labor Day weekend opening.
The R rated horror film from United Artists, released by MGM, opened atop the chart with an ESTIMATED $16.13 million at 2,944 theaters ($5,477 per theater). (For three days it did an ESTIMATED $13.13 million).
Previously, the biggest Labor Day opening was The Crow: City of Angels, which arrived the weekend of Aug. 30 - Sept. 2, 1996 to $9.79 million at 2,423 theaters ($4,038 per theater).
(NOTE: All of today's estimates are for the four-day holiday weekend from Friday through Monday. Percentage comparisons are not indicated today since last weekend was a normal three-day weekend.)
Driven by Jeepers, Labor Day ticket sales for key films -- those grossing $500,000 or more for the four-day period -- reached a new high of about $110.3 million. The previous key films record gross for Labor Day was 1999's total of $109.98 million.
Jeepers' average per theater was the highest for any film playing in wide release this weekend. It is MGM's fourth No. 1 opening this year, following Hannibal, Heartbreakers and Legally Blonde.
Jeepers' strong launch surprised insiders who said the film had been flying low on Hollywood's advance radar screen. As a result, expectations were that Jeepers would at best come in fourth or fifth for the four-day period.
Written and directed by Victor Salva, it stars Gina Phillips, Justin Long, Jonathan Breck and Eileen Brennan.
"In my experience the tendency is for (horror genre films) to undertrack," MGM worldwide theatrical marketing and distribution president Bob Levin said Sunday morning, focusing on Jeepers' surprisingly big opening weekend.
"A lot of the interest and demand for these (type of films) happen very late in the game. This audience is not setting dates, so it picks up very late. And I think that many, many times these movies are driven by genre people -- people who just like horror movies. So you get this burst of people who are very peculiar. They aren't regular moviegoers. They really like these kind of movies and they wait around for them. And you're just not going to pick them up on tracking."
As things turned out, MGM picked exactly the right date to launch Jeepers. "We thought that a four-day holiday (made sense)," Levin explained. "You know, everyone talks about Labor Day weekend being a not very good weekend, but if you really look at all of the weekends that follow here into early September, they aren't that much better. It isn't like it's dramatically historically not as good a weekend as everything else. But (with) four days and this kind of movie, I've got to figure this crowd isn't just spending all of their time toasting marshmallows."
Should Hollywood treat Labor Day better than it does and open more films and better product then?
"It's the biggest (Labor Day weekend) ever and I guess it just reemphasizes what so many people have said all along," Levin replied. "You get this expansion of theaters that can put movies out and there really isn't a bad weekend any more. There's wrong movies and wrong weekends, but there isn't a weekend that can't do business if the right movie is there."
New Line Cinema's PG-13 rated action comedy blockbuster sequel Rush Hour 2 held on to second place in its fifth week, still showing strong legs with an ESTIMATED $11.7 million at 2,825 theaters (-176 theaters; $4,142 per theater). (For three days it did an ESTIMATED $10.0 million). Its cume is approximately $198.8 million, heading for $210-215 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Brett Ratner, it stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker.
"To do (nearly) $200 million in August is an incredible thing," New Line distribution president David Tuckerman said Sunday morning. "I think it's wonderful!"
Universal's R rated youth appeal comedy hit sequel American Pie 2 slid two pegs to third place in its fourth week with a still sweet ESTIMATED $11.41 million at 3,114 theaters (-43 theaters; $3,665 per theater). (For three days it did an ESTIMATED $8.61 million). Pie 2, which cost about $30 million to make, has a cume of approximately $125.3 million, heading for $140 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by J B Rogers, it stars Jason Biggs, Shannon Elizabeth, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Natasha Lyonne, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tara Reid, Seann William Scott, Mena Suvari, Eddie Kaye Thomas and Eugene Levy.
"I would never have imagined that at this juncture we'd be doing that much business," Universal distribution president Nikki Rocco said Sunday morning.
Asked why Pie 2 continues to do so well, Rocco replied, "Teen-agers (17 and over) like it. Repeat (business). It became the college choice. At this time of the year, kids love that."
Looking back at the summer, Rocco noted, "We've had an incredible summer. We're celebrating our success. It's been incredible for Universal. We couldn't ask for anything more."
Dimension Films' PG-13 thriller The Others held on to fourth place, widening again in its fourth week and still looking good with an ESTIMATED $9.0 million at 2,716 theaters (+280 theaters; $3,313 per theater). (For three days it did an ESTIMATED $7.8 million). Others, which cost only $17 million to make, has a cume of approximately $58.8 million, heading for $70-75 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Alejandro Amenabar, it stars Nicole Kidman.
"This is terrific," David Kaminow, senior vice president, marketing for Dimension's parent company Miramax Films, said Sunday morning.
"Every summer seems to produce one or two sleeper hit surprises and I'd say The Others for this summer qualifies as one of those. With the minimal drops from week to week, it's obviously pleasing an audience. I think you can't play down the fact that it is a PG-13 rated movie that is appealing to a younger set because it's a thriller and it's a little scary and it's appealing to an older audience because it is a sophisticated story that is intelligent. And those were few and far between this summer. I think it really spanned the moviegoing audience demographically this summer."
Paramount's PG-13 comedy Rat Race, which was fifth last week, tied for fourth place in its third week with an okay ESTIMATED $9.0 million at 2,551 theaters (theater count unchanged; $3,528 per theater). (For three days it did an ESTIMATED $7.14 million). Its cume is approximately $37.7 million.
Directed by Jerry Zucker, it stars Rowan Atkinson, John Cleese, Whoopi Goldberg, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Seth Green, Jon Lovitz, Breckin Meyer and Amy Smart.
Buena Vista/Disney's G rated family comedy hit The Princess Diaries rose one notch to sixth place in its fifth week, still holding well with an ESTIMATED $7.5 million at 2,690 theaters (-59 theaters; $2,790 per theater).
Its cume is approximately $92.7 million, heading for $95-100 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Garry Marshall, it stars Julie Andrews and Anne Hathaway.
Lions Gate Films' controversial R rated high school set violent drama "O" opened quietly in seventh place to an ESTIMATED $7.0 million at 1,434 theaters ($4,881 per theater).
"O", a teen version of Shakespeare's Othello, was to have been released several years ago by Miramax, which decided in the aftermath of several tragic high school killings to keep it on the shelf. Lions Gate took the film over, giving it an ambitious wide release.
Directed by Tim Blake Nelson, it stars Mekhi Phifer, Josh Hartnett and Julia Stiles.
Dimension Films' R rated youth appeal comedy Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back plunged five slots to eighth place in its second week with a soft ESTIMATED $6.0 million at 2,765 theaters (theater count unchanged; $2,169 per theater). (For three days it did an ESTIMATED $5.0 million). Its cume is approximately $21.5 million.
Written and directed by Kevin Smith, it stars Smith, Ben Affleck, Shannon Elizabeth, Will Ferrell, Jason Lee, Jason Mewes and Chris Rock.
Warner Bros.' PG-13 baseball theme romantic comedy Summer Catch slipped three pegs to ninth place in its second week with an unexciting ESTIMATED $4.9 million at 2,335 theaters (theater count unchanged; $2,099 per theater). (For three days it did an ESTIMATED $3.9 million). Its cume is approximately $14.9 million.
Directed by Mike Tollin and produced by Tollin, Brian Robbins and Sam Weisman, it stars Freddie Prinze, Jr., Jessica Biel and Matthew Lillard.
Rounding out the Top 10 was Universal's Captain Corelli's Mandolin, down two rungs in its third week with a quiet ESTIMATED $4.08 million at 1,612 theaters (theater count unchanged; $2,530 per theater). (For three days it did an ESTIMATED $3.14 million). Its cume is approximately $19.8 million.
Directed by John Madden, it stars Nicolas Cage and Penelope Cruz.
SUMMER TOP TEN FILMS
Based on ESTIMATED cumes through Labor Day weekend, the summer's top 10 films are:
(1) Shrek (DreamWorks)- $262.9 million.
(2) The Mummy Returns (Universal) - $201.7 million.
(3) Rush Hour 2 (New Line) - $198.8 million (but heading for $210-215 million).
(4) Pearl Harbor (BV/Touchstone) - $196.5 million.
(5) Jurassic Park III (Universal) - $175.7 million.
(6) Planet of the Apes (Fox) - $172.7 million.
(7) The Fast and the Furious (Universal) - $142.0
million.
(8) Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (Paramount) - $130.5
million.
(9) American Pie 2 (Universal) - $125.3 million (but
heading for 140 million).
(10)Dr. Dolittle 2 (Fox) - $111.4 million.
LABOR DAY GROSSES
Looking back at the last six years' Labor Day weekend grosses for key films -- those doing $500,000 or more for the four days -- shows a pattern of growth consistent with the steady expansion of the marketplace. It also confirms the fact that Labor Day really isn't one of Hollywood's prime holiday weekends.
Coming, as it does, at the end of summer Labor Day Weekend is a holiday when people across the country are eager to enjoy a last taste of summer. They really don't want to spend time indoors seeing movies unless their outdoor plans are ruined by rain. In view of that, Hollywood has made a point of not taking the risk of opening major high profile films for Labor Day. That, in turn, has helped to perpetuate the holiday's box office weakness.
In 1995 Labor Day weekend (Sept. 1-4) saw key films gross $75.53 million. New Line's Mortal Kombat topped the chart with $8.3 million at 2,630 theaters ($3,151 per theater).
In 1996 Labor Day weekend (Aug. 30 - Sept. 2) saw key films gross $85.60 million. Miramax's opening of The Crow: City of Angels was No. 1 with $9.8 million at 2,423 theaters ($4,038 per theater). (Crow's launch was the best ever for a Labor Day weekend until this year's ESTIMATED $16.13 million for Jeepers Creepers.)
In 1997 Labor Day weekend (Aug. 29 - Sept. 1) saw key films gross $90.35 million. Buena Vista's G.I. Jane came in first with $10.3 million at 1,973 theaters ($5,211 per theater).
In 1998 Labor Day weekend (Sept. 4-7) saw the gross for key films fall to $81.89 million. 20th Century Fox's There's Something About Mary was number one with $10.9 million at 2,545 theaters ($4,291 per theater).
In 1999 Labor Day weekend (Sept. 3-6) saw the key films gross soar 34.3 percent to $109.98 million. (This was the best showing for key films over Labor Day until this year's ESTIMATED total of $110.28 million.) Buena Vista's The Sixth Sense placed first with $29.3 million at 2,775 theaters ($10,548 per theater), the best showing to date for a Labor Day weekend.
In 2000 Labor Day weekend (Sept. 1-4) saw the gross for key films slide 9.4 percent to $99.66 million. Universal's Bring It On was the grossing film with $14.2 million at 2,410 theaters ($5,880 per theater).
OTHER OPENINGS
There were no other major openings this weekend.
SNEAK PREVIEWS
There were no national sneak previews this weekend.
EXPANSIONS
On the expansion front, this weekend saw Fox Searchlight Pictures R rated hit thriller The Deep End go wider in its fourth week with a still encouraging ESTIMATED $1.75 million at 326 theaters (+118 theaters; $5,368 per theater). (For three days it did an ESTIMATED $1.39 million). Its cume is approximately $4.8 million.
Written produced and directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel, it stars Tilda Swinton, Goran Visnjic and Jonathan Tucker.
"We're in many small markets and suburban runs and while not all of them are great, our theater average for this number of runs (is very good)," Fox Searchlight distribution president Stephen Gilula said Sunday morning.
"It's holding extremely well in a number of our city runs. We have been able to expand. We will get a little bit further -- probably a little over 400 (playdates) next weekend and that will be the maximum expansion that we do. We expect the film to play through September and into the fall based on the strength of the holdovers. The film is getting quite enthusiastic word of mouth on the part of the audience, so it's very encouraging."
Revolution Studios and Columbia Pictures' PG-13 rated romantic comedy America's Sweethearts added theaters for the holiday weekend in its seventh week with a slow ESTIMATED $1.4 million at 1,565 theaters (+657 theaters; $885 per theater). Its cume is approximately $91.6 million.
Directed by Joe Roth, it stars Julia Roberts, Billy Crystal, Catherine Zeta-Jones and John Cusack.
DreamWorks' PG rated computer animated blockbuster Shrek added theaters for the holiday weekend in its 16th week with an OK ESTIMATED $1.1 million at 1,111 theaters (+356 theaters; $995 per theater). Its cume is approximately $262.9 million on its way to $270 million.
Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, its voice talents include Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and John Lithgow.
Buena Vista/Touchstone's PG-13 rated action romance Pearl Harbor from Jerry Bruckheimer Films returned to theaters for the holiday weekend in its 15th week with a dull ESTIMATED $1.0 million at 1,036 theaters (+1,036 theaters; $960 per theater). Its cume is approximately $196.5 million as it continues to struggle to get to $200 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Michael Bay, Pearl was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay. Its cast is led by Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, Kate Beckinsale, Cuba Gooding Jr., Tom Sizemore, Jon Voight and Alec Baldwin.
Buena Vista/Disney's PG rated animated feature Atlantis added theaters for the holiday weekend in its 13th week with a slow ESTIMATED $0.9 million at 780 theaters (+655 theaters; $1,160 per theater). Its cume is approximately $82.4 million.
Directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, its voice talents include Michael J. Fox, James Garner, Cree Summer and Leonard Nimoy.
MGM's release of United Artists' R rated youth appeal comedy Ghost World continued to widen in its seventh week with a still encouraging ESTIMATED $0.55 million at 81 theaters (+17 theaters; $6,728 per theater). (For three days it did an ESTIMATED $0.44 million). Its cume is approximately $3.2 million.
Directed by Terry Swigoff, it stars Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson, Brad Renfro, Illeana Douglas and Steve Buscemi.
Miramax's R rated Apocalypse Now Redux widened in its fifth week with a still promising ESTIMATED $0.5 million at 81 theaters (+15 theaters; $6,173 per theater). Its cume is approximately $2.7 million.
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, it stars Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Martin Sheen, Laurence Fishburne, Dennis Hopper and Harrison Ford.
Artisan's R rated comedy Made expanded in its eighth week with a weak ESTIMATED $0.32 million at 182 theaters (+15 theaters; $1,755 per theater). Its cume is approximately $4.6 million.
Written and directed by Jon Favreau, it stars Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Sean Combs, Famke Janssen, Faizon Love and Peter Falk.
INTERNATIONAL
On the international front, Universal reported that Jurassic Park III will crack $150 million this weekend, driven by strong launches in Italy and Australia.
In Italy, Jurassic Park III opened in first place to an ESTIMATED $1.9 million, a bigger opening than either The Mummy Returns or The Lost World: Jurassic Park
In Australia, Jurassic Park III kicked off in first place to an excellent ESTIMATED $2.0 million.
Jurassic Park III still has another 10 territories in which to open.
Universal also reported that its release of Bridget Jones's Diary hit $112 million this weekend.
Bridget's opening Saturday in Korea generated a very strong $220,000 with 55 playdates. In its second weekend in Germany, its Saturday gross of $1.0 million was up 75 percent from the prior Saturday. Its Thursday through Saturday gross of over $2 million was up 43 percent from opening weekend. Universal called it a "fantastic hold" in the face of Fox's Planet of the Apes opening in Germany in first place to over $4 million this weekend.
Bridget also held up well in Austria where its Friday - Saturday gross of $0.425 million was up 30 percent from last week's opening. For the two days, Universal said, Bridget was running neck and neck with Planet of the Apes and could edge it out for first place depending on Sunday's ticket sales.
In the U.K., Universal said, its release of Crocodile Dundee 3 held well in its second weekend with $0.256 million for Friday - Saturday, down only 20 percent from its opening last week.
WEEKEND COMPARISONS
Key films -- those grossing more than $500,000 -- took in approximately $110.28 million for the four-day weekend, up about 10.66 per cent from the comparable holiday weekend last year when key films grossed $99.66 million.
This holiday weekend's key film gross for four days cannot be compared to last weekend of this year, which was a normal three-day weekend.
Last year, Universal's second week of Bring It On was first with $14.17 million at 2,410 theaters ($5,880 per theater); and New Line's third week of The Cell was second with $8.93 million at 2,444 theaters ($3,654 per theater). The top two films one year ago grossed $23.1 million. This year, the top two films grossed an ESTIMATED $27.8 million.

Cats and Dogs reigned at the box office, fetching $21.6 million in ticket sales for Warner Bros.
Also driving the post-July Fourth weekend were high impact arrivals for Dimension Films' Scary Movie 2 and 20th Century Fox's Kiss of the Dragon and very encouraging sneaks for MGM's Legally Blonde.
The PG rated family appeal comedy Cats and Dogs from Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures and NPV Entertainment, combining live action with animation and special effects, captured first place with a purr-fectly beautiful ESTIMATED $21.6 million at 3,040 theaters ($7,240 per theater). Its cume after five days is approximately $35.7 million.
Cats opened Wednesday (July Fourth) with a slim lead over the holiday's other new wide release, the R rated Scary Movie 2 from Miramax's Dimension Films label. Both films benefited from widespread rain across the United States on July Fourth with Cats doing $9.02 million and Scary Movie 2scaring up $8.75 million. On Thursday, July 5 Scary Movie 2 took in $5.26 million while Cats grossed $5.03 million.
Cats' average per theater was the highest for any film playing in wide release this weekend.
"The great thing about Cats and Dogs is that it's been playing so well for family audiences," Warner Bros. Distribution president Dan Fellman said Sunday morning. "We're going to be around for a long time. You know, with all the movies coming in, there's really nothing for the young kids."
Focusing on Cats' first five days business, Fellman noted, "This gross beats the first seven days of Space Jam, which grossed $32 million for the week. That's been our largest Warner family film in our company's history. That went on to do $90 million (in domestic theaters). Just trying to look at something similar, Stuart Little, it grossed $27 million its whole first week. That went on to do $139 million (domestically). So I think we have a really good chance of exceeding the $100 million mark since we had such a great start.
"I assume we're going to do at least $40 million for the first week. And we have all this summer play time. We opened Space Jam at Thanksgiving so it didn't have the benefit of having a Saturday every single day (the way summer releases do)."
Dimension Films launched its R rated horror film spoof sequel Scary Movie 2 in second place with a killer ESTIMATED $21.0 million at 3,220 theaters ($6,521 per theater). Its cume after five days is approximately $34.5 million.
Directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans, it stars Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Chris Masterson and Kathleen Robertson.
The original Scary Movie opened last July 9 to $42.35 million at 2,912 theaters ($14,542 per theater). It cost about $19 million to produce and went on to gross about $157 million in domestic theaters.
"We're very happy with the opening," Miramax senior vice president, marketing David Kaminow said Sunday morning. "It's good enough that Bob (Weinstein, co-chairman of Miramax and head of the Dimension label) this morning is already talking about, maybe, another sequel. With this kind of opening we might see Scary Movie 3.
"Scary Movie 2 is poised to be the third highest week in the history of the company (after) Scary Movie and Scream 3. Obviously, from that we're very, very happy from a corporate standpoint. With $34.5 million in five days -- the budget was in the mid-$40 millions roughly -- we're in really good shape here."
Who was on hand this weekend? "Demographically it was pretty even male-female," Kaminow replied. "African-American audiences are really responding very, very well to the film. We think the play there is going to be long. And 18 to 24 is the solid core group, (which) is not surprising. The African-American (exit) scores were above average -- the Top Two Boxes in the 80 percents and the Definite Recommend in the low 80 percents as well, which is a great place to be.
Warner Bros. and DreamWorks' PG-13 rated sci-fi fantasy adventure A.I. Artificial Intelligence slid two pegs to third place in its second week with a quieter ESTIMATED $14.15 million (-52 percent) at 3,242 theaters (theater count unchanged; $4,363 per theater). Its cume is approximately $59.7 million.
Written and directed by Steven Spielberg, it was produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Spielbergand Bonnie Curtis. Starring are Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O'Connor, Brendan Gleeson and William Hurt.
"A.I. continues the pattern of other huge films that opened this summer," Warners' Dan Fellman said. "Fast and the Furious dropped 50 percent (its second weekend) and Tomb Raider dropped 59 percent. And both movies have already exceeded $100 million at the box office. I think we'll settle in and we'll play fine. We needed to settle in this week. We'll just continue to play. There's still a tremendous amount of interest in the movie and people are continuing to talk about it. We have our adult audience and they'll continue to drive the movie for quite a while."
20th Century Fox's R rated action drama Kiss of the Dragon kicked off in fourth place with a muscular ESTIMATED $13.64 million at 2,025 theaters ($6,736 per theater).
Directed by Chris Nahon, it stars Jet Li and Bridget Fonda.
"We're very pleased with it," Fox distribution president Bruce Snyder said Sunday morning. "It's in the area where we were hoping to be."
Noting that it's an extremely competitive marketplace, Snyder added, "It's even hard to figure out how much of a holiday or non-holiday this weekend was, the way the Fourth fell. But it looks like a real solid weekend. We've got six movies doing over $10 million this weekend."
Universal's PG-13 action drama The Fast and the Furious fell three rungs to fifth place in its third week with a slower ESTIMATED $12.4 million (-38 percent) at 2,804 theaters (+81 theaters; $4,405 per theater). Fast, which cost a modest $38 million, has a cume of approximately $101.5 million.
Directed by Rob Cohen and produced by Neal H. Moritz, it stars Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster.
20th Century Fox and Davis Entertainment's PG rated comedy sequel Dr. Dolittle 2 dropped three notches to sixth place in its third week with a less funny ESTIMATED $10.1 million (-36 percent) at 3,022 theaters (-31 theaters; $3,342 per theater). Its cume is approximately $71.5 million, heading for $100-105 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Steve Carr and produced by John Davis, it stars Eddie Murphy.
Paramount and Mutual Film Company's PG-13 rated action adventure Lara Croft: Tomb Raider slipped three slots in its fourth week with a weaker ESTIMATED $6.8 million (-33 percent) at 3,010 theaters (-339 theaters; $2,259 per theater). Its cume is approximately $115.6 million, heading for $130 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Simon West, Tomb stars Angelina Jolie.
DreamWorks' PG rated computer animated blockbuster Shrek dropped one rung to eighth place in its eighth week, still holding well with an ESTIMATED $6.0 million (-22 percent) at 2,107 theaters (-597 theaters; $2,855 per theater). Its cume is approximately $240.6 million heading for $250 million-plus in domestic theaters.
Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, its voice talents include Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and John Lithgow.
Buena Vista/Disney's PG rated animated feature Atlantis fell three pegs in its fifth week to ninth place with a less turbulent ESTIMATED $5.0 million (-39 percent) at 2,272 theaters (-758 theaters; $2,201 per theater). Its cume is approximately $69.4 million.
Directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, its voice talents include Michael J Fox, James Garner, Cree Summer and Leonard Nimoy.
Rounding out the Top Ten was Columbia's R rated African-American appeal drama Baby Boy, down five pegs in its second week and packing less punch with an ESTIMATED $4.8 million (-44 percent) at 1,533 theaters (theater count unchanged; $3,131 per theater). Made for about $16 million, its cume is approximately $20.8 million, heading for a profitable $30 million in domestic theaters.
Written, produced and directed by John Singleton, it stars Tyrese Gibson, Snoop Dogg and Ving Rhames.
This weekend also saw Lions Gate Films' unrated erotic drama Lost and Delirious arrive to a not very arousing ESTIMATED $0.045 million at 7 theaters ($6,440 per theater).
Directed by Lea Pool, it stars Piper Perabo.
Miramax's R rated comedy Everybody's Famous opened to a quiet ESTIMATED $0.017 million at 4 theaters ($4,250 per theater).
Written and directed by Dominique Deruddere, it stars Josse De Pauw.
"That goes to about 10 runs on Friday," Miramax's David Kaminow said.
This weekend saw MGM hold very encouraging sneak previews Friday night at about 818 theaters of its PG-13 rated comedy Legally Blonde.
Directed by Robert Luketic, the Marc Platt production stars Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, Selma Blair, Matthew Davis, Victor Garber and Jennifer Coolidge with a special appearance by Raquel Welch. Produced by Platt and Ric Kidney, its screenplay by Karen McCullah Lutz &amp; Kirsten Smith is based on the book by Amanda Brown.
Blonde will open Friday at over 2,000 theaters.
MGM said Blonde was sneaked in 101 markets, playing to 75 percent of capacity and that 50 percent of its showings were sold out. Those on hand for the sneaks were 25 percent under the age of 18 and 45 percent between 18 and 25. Women accounted for about two-thirds of the ticket sales.
"It was really a very, very good sneak," MGM marketing and distribution president Bob Levin said Sunday morning. "Very strong. In the exits we do, we've got close to 90 percent in the Top Two Boxes (excellent and very good) and a very strong over-75 percent Definite Recommend. Those are the kind of numbers you really hope you get in sneaks because you're trying to drive word of mouth and those are the kind of numbers you need to drive word of mouth. So we're very pleased."
Levin, a well regarded industry veteran who previously headed marketing at Sony Pictures Entertainment and Disney, joined MGM in late June as the studio's distribution and marketing chief.
Asked how the idea of sneaking Blonde came about, Levin explained, "What happened is we had a great reaction to the film at the premiere (held on June 26) and it was one of the exhibitors who happened to mention it to one of our distribution executives and it seemed like a great idea. So we immediately decided to adopt it (and thought) we should sneak it. This is the perfect kind of movie to sneak, where you aren't being driven by a huge potential fixed marketing opening but you have a movie that really plays well. So why not sneak it?"
Who is the target audience for Blonde? "Well, certainly more female than male," Levin replied. "But we have found in the exits we've done that actually guys like the movie as well, but it has to be (regarded as) slightly more female than male. What has been shown through these sneaks is that the actual likeability of the film is across a broad spectrum -- from even pre-teens all the way through what we categorize as older women (those 30 and older)."
Although the marketplace is crowded with product, there's really nothing like Blonde in theaters now. "I think that's why we have a tremendous opportunity," Levin observed. "And that's why the sneaks made sense because we get to advance the word of mouth. This kind of response that these numbers suggest is the response you get where people show up Monday at work or school or camp or wherever they are and really talk about the movie. So it's great on that kind of basis. I think, hopefully, we really do have sort of a unique offering in the marketplace right now."
Blonde marks the start of what could be a strong second half of the year for MGM. "I think we're about ready to, hopefully, do some very good business through the end of the year on a number of different films," Levin noted.
Among the releases upcoming via MGM are the suspense thriller Original Sin, directed by Michael Christofre and starring Angelina Jolie and Antonio Banderas, and the horror genre film Jeepers Creepers, directed by Victor Salva and starring Gina Philips, both opening in August.
Arriving in September is the drama Deuces Wild, directed by Scott Kalvert and starring Fairuza Balk, Stephen Dorff and Matt Dillon.
October will bring Bandits, directed by Barry Levinson and starring Bruce Willis, Cate Blanchett and Billy Bob Thornton, and Killing Me Softly, directed by Chen Kaige and starring Heather Graham and Joseph Fiennes.
In November MGM has the action adventure Windtalkers, directed by John Woo and starring Nicolas Cage, Adam Beach and Christian Slater.
The studio's action adventure fantasy Rollerball, directed by John McTiernan and starring Chris Klein, L.L. Cool J and Jean Reno, was recently moved from August to early next year.
On the expansion front, this weekend saw Fox Searchlight's R rated critically acclaimed British crime thriller Sexy Beast continue to widen in its fourth week, still showing good legs with an ESTIMATED $0.71 million (even) at 134 theaters (+25 theaters; $5,325 per theater). Its cume is approximately $3.1 million.
Directed by Jonathan Glazer, it stars Ray Winstone and Ben Kingsley.
"We feel very good," Fox Searchlight distribution president Stephen Gilula said Sunday morning. "We opened a lot of new smaller markets that did quite well. In the fourth week, we're holding extremely well and we're quite pleased. The film seems to be settling in and getting good word of mouth. The holdovers still did quite nicely. The holdovers fell less than 20 percent, so we're very pleased with that."
Where does it go from here? "Well, this week we add another round of theaters," Gilula replied. "We're going to add 30 screens and go into another 20 markets or so, a bunch of smaller cities (like) Albuquerque, Pittsburgh, Boise, Buffalo and we'll just keep going. As long as the momentum continues, we'll just keep expanding every week. We'll probably get up to, I would think, around 200 runs. Some of the smaller runs will come off, but we'll just keep moving the prints around the country."
With its cume now at about $3.1 million, Gilula said, "We're clearly going to get past $5 million, which for this film will be very successful for us. It's already a financial success for us. My estimate goes up a little each week because of how well the runs are holding in the big cities."
Fine Line Features' R rated comedy The Anniversary Party went a little wider in its fifth week with a still bubbly ESTIMATED $0.45 million (+9 percent) at 107 theaters (+4 theaters; $4,245 per theater). Its cume is approximately $2.6 million.
Written and directed by Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh, its ensemble cast includes Jane Adams, Jennifer Beals, Phoebe Cates, Alan Cumming, Kevin Kline, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gwyneth Paltrow, Parker Posey and John C. Reilly.
Lions Gate Films' PG-13 rated drama Songcatcher continued to widen in its fourth week with a dull ESTIMATED $0.25 million at 67 theaters (+30 theaters; $3,690 per theater). Its cume is approximately $0.61 million.
Directed by Maggie Greenwald, it stars Janet McTeer and Aidan Quinn.
Miramax's R rated French comedy The Closet went wider in its second week with a still promising ESTIMATED $0.21 million at 16 theaters (+12 theaters; $13,043 per theater). Its cume is approximately $0.38 million.
Directed by Francis Veber, it stars Daniel Auteuil, Gerard Depardieu, Thierry Lhermitte and Michele Laroque.
"This Friday it will probably expand to about 30 to 40 runs," Miramax's David Kaminow said.
Key films -- those grossing more than $500,000 -- took in approximately $129.3 million, down about 6.45 percent from the comparable weekend last year when key films grossed $138.2 million.
This weekend's key film gross was up about 5.42 percent from last weekend this year when key films took in $122.65 million.
Last year, Dimension Films' opening week of Scary Movie was first with $42.35 million at 2,912 theaters ($14,542 per theater); and Warner Bros.' second week of The Perfect Storm was second with $27.12 million at 3,407 theaters ($7,960 per theater).The top two films one year ago grossed $69.4 million. This year, the top two films grossed an ESTIMATED $43.0 million.